Unique prewrapped box structure and unique method of making same

ABSTRACT

The prewrapped box includes a separate ornamental wrapper permanently affixed externally thereon. The method is directed to the permanent fixing of the separate ornamental wrapper on the box blank; the collapsed box with wrapper thereon; said ornamental wrapper being on the box as sold and used.

United States Patent 1191 Straccamore Feb. 5, 1974 UNIQUE PREWRAPPED BOXSTRUCTURE AND UNIQUEMETHOD OF MAKING SAME [76] Inventor: Armand E.Straccamore, 216

Summer St., Buffalo, NY. 14222 [22] Filed: May 17, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:254,311

[52] US. Cl. 229/87 R, 206/4533, 229/39 R [51] Int. Cl B65d 65/14 [58]Field of Search 229/87 R, 39 R; 206/4533 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1 3,343,750 4 9/1967 Desmond et al. 229/87 R 3,451,6116/1969 Adams, Jr. 229/87 R x 3,459,358 8/1969 Adams, Jr. 229/87R x3,460,738 8/1969 Adams, Jr. 229/87 'R x 2,269,796 1/1942 Strasser206/4533 ux 2,666,567 1/1954 Farrell 229/39 R x 2,479,456 8/1949 Arthur229/87 R x 3,311,289 3/1967 French 229/87 R 3,391,856 7/1968 Siegler229/87 R 3,394,867 7/1968 Gregg 229/87 R x Primary ExaminerGeorge E.Lowrance Assistant Examiner-Stephen Marcus Attorney, Agent, orFirm--Shoemaker and Mattare [5 7] ABSTRACT The prewrapped box includes aseparate ornamental wrapper permanentlyaffixed externally thereon. Themethod is directed to the permanent fixing of the separate ornamentalwrapper on the box blank; the collapsed box with wrapper thereon; saidornamental wrapper being on the box as sold and used.

7 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PAIENTED 51974 SHEU 19F 3 PAIENIEBFEB 5 m4SHEEI 3 BF 3 FIG].

' thereon or applied thereto, .if desired.

UNIQUE'PREWRAPPED BOX STRUCTURE AND UNIQUE METHOD or MAKING SAME SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION The prewrapped box is of the knockdown or collapsibletype and includes a substantially flat scored foldable blank with theseparate flexible ornamental wrapper permanently affixed to the exteriorsurface of the blank, with said blank set up or erected to box form withsaid wrapper thereon, and said wrapped box simulating, or appearing tobe, a hand wrapped box.

The prewrapped box of the "present invention has many advantages overthe semi-rigid fully formed box usually with a separate cover therefor.The manufacturer of the preformed semi-rigid boxes, of course, must packand ship those boxes in their erected condition to large departmentstores or any other concern that might use and/or sell the boxes. Thisrequires time and expense as is obvious. The department store or theindividual must store the boxes until used and a clerk must manuallywrap a separate wrapper about the box and usually either secure it withScotch tape and/or tie it to maintain that separate wrapper in properposition about the box, and sometimes place a bow H or ribbon I or anyother ornament on the wrapper.

In the present invention, the box structure from the broadest aspect hasa permanent ornamental wrapper thereon affixed to the exterior surfaceof the box. Suitable bows or ribbons or other ornaments may be attachedto the wrapper by'any suitable means. The box is of the knockdown anderectable type, being knocked down for purposes of shipping and, in oneinstance, for the purpose of selling the same in that condition. In theknocked down state, of course, applicants box is prewrapped and theboxes can be stacked on one another and shipped with the greatest ofease and with much less expense and avoiding all of the storage spacesuch as required for preformed semi-rigid boxes.

Simply stating applicants box, it includes an ornamental wrapperpermanently on the exterior surfaces of the box when the box iscollapsed and may be provided with a transparent cover. To erect thebox, the outer cover is first removed and the .box then set up ready foruse. The box is sold,'in some instances, to customers, departmentstores, gift shops or the like in its collapsed condition within itscover. The customer may take the box homeand put'an article that ispurchased in that box and close it without any trouble whatsoever. Theflexible ornamental wrapper may be of any solid or mixed colors and without suitable ornamentation DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is aperspective view of the collapsed or knocked down carton and there ispreferably a'transpatent cover surrounding the collapsed or knocked downbox which is in substantially flat condition and sold as such;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the unclosed, set up or erected box ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the box with its end flaps closing thebox;

FIG. 4 is a view of the substantially flat blank and opposite it is theseparate wrapper;

I and many thousands put in a master carton or the like 2 FIG. 5 is aperspective view with the wrapper of FIG.

4 applied over the blank and permanently adhesively adhered thereto;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS In FIG. 1, thebox B is collapsed with the ornamental wrapper W affixed thereto andwith a protective cover C about the collapsed box, said cover alsoserving to maintain the box in collapsed condition ready for sale. Thecover C is preferably transparent and enables viewing the ornamentalwrapper therebeneath. The wrapper W may have attached thereto a ribbonornament I, FIG. 1, or a ribbon rossette type ornament l-l, FIG. 3, orany other kind of ornament may be affixed to the wrapper. v

The method of making the box as in FIGS. 1 3 and 6 8 with the ornamentalflat flexible wrapper W af fixed to the box when collapsed, FIG. I, andalso when the box is erected, FIGS. 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8, comprisesproviding the flexible one piece paperboard, plastic or likesubstantially flat box blank, FIG. 4. The blank is suitably scored at Sto define interconnected foldable body panels 12, 13 and side panels 14,15 and an additional side panel 16 that inwardly'overlaps side panel 15when the box is erected, FIGS. 9 and 11. Closure flaps 12', 13', 14' and15 and 12a, 13a, 14a and 15a are hingedly secured to each of panels 12,13, 14 and The specific method of making and assembling the boxstructure with an ornamental flat wrapper W affixed to the flat blankand to the box in collapsed or erected condition includes providingtheone piece substantially'flat box blank with connected together bodypanels and side panels, applying a line of adhesive 17 at the marginaledge of said additional sidepanel l6, applying another line of adhesive18 inwardly of a free end edge of another side panel opposite theadditional side panel, providing the ornamental wrapper of less over-alldimensions than the over-all dimensions of the flat box blank, placingthe wrapper on the blank, securing the wrapper to the blank at the twolines of adhesive by placing marginal end portions of the wrapper on theadhesive that is inwardly of the free end of said another panel andaffixing the opposite marginal portion of the Wrapper that extends oversaid additional side panel to the line of the adhesive inwardly of theedge of that panel, and with the wrapper thus affixed to the blank, theopposed marginal edge portions of the wrapper extend only over portionsof all of the outwardly flatly extending closure flaps, applyingpressure sensitive removable adhesive strips F with adhesive G at eachopposed edge of the wrapper, set up the blank into tubular condition bymeans of the score lines, secure the blank into tubular condition andwith opposite end portions of the wrapper W extending over portions of.all

of the closure flaps, inturn each side panel closure flap, inturn eachbody panel flap, lock said body panel flaps in overlapping relationshipwith respect to the already inturned side panel flaps and thus closingboth ends of the box and rigidizing the box, inturn the extensions ofthe wrapper from the side panels to overlie the already inturned lockingflaps, the inturn the extensions of the wrapper from the body panels tooverlie the inturned side wall portions of the wrapper, and seal thealready inturned extensions of the wrapper. Suitable small pieces of aconventional sealing tape T may be used with or without the pressuresensitive means F.

The substantially flat, one piece paperboard, plastic or the likeflexible box blank in FIG. 4 and from which the box in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 7and 8 is made, includes similar rectangular body panels 12 and 13, andeach panel has substantially similar integral infoldable end closureflaps l2 and 12a and 13' and 13a, respectively. Closure flap 12 has aprojecting locking tongue L for interlocking inslit U in flap 12a.Likewise, closure flap 130 has a similar tongue L for interlocking in aslot U. Side panels 14 and 15 each have substantially similar inturnedor infoldable oppositely disposed side closure flaps 14', 14a and 15'and 15a, respectively, and there is an additional infolding side closureflap 16 that extends outwardly of flap 16 and overlaps side closure flap15 when the box is erected, FIGS. ,9 and 11.

A line of adhesive 17 is at the marginal edge portion of the additionalside flap l6 and another line of adhesive 18 is inwardly of side flap15.

Score lines S are in the blank to allow folding or setting up the blankto erected box form as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8. There is abroken line X in FIGS. 2, 5, 6 and 7 inwardly of each end of theunclosed box, and these broken lines X, of course, are not on theornamental wrapper but used only to designate what comprises theprojecting inturnable end portion W of the wrapper closure at both endsW of the box. The broken lines X indicate where the ornamental wrapper Wterminates with respect to the body panels 12,13 and side panels 12, 13,14, 15 and 16 in FIG. 5, as well as to the erected or set up box inFIGS. 2, 6 and 7. In other words, the portions of the box flaps and thewrapper thereover each extend outwardly of line X and said extendingportions of all the closure flaps are inturned and locked, FIG. 7, andthe extending portions of the wrapper are then turned inwardly over theinturned closure flaps. Thus, the box is closed and sealed, FIGS. 3 and8.

Viewing FIG. 6, the side closure flaps 14a and 150 are each turnedinwardly substantially horizontally flush or aligned with the ends ofbody panels 12 and 13. The closure flap 12a with its locking slit U isthen turned inwardly and the closure flap 13a is turned inwardly toengage flap 12a and the locking tongue 20 on closure flap 13a is slippedinto the slit U on closure flap 12a, see FIG. 7, and, thus all closureflaps are locked or held in proper closed condition at both ends of thebox, and then the opposite projecting side portions W1 and W2 of thewrapper W are turned inwardly over an opposite adjacent portion of thealready locked in place closure flaps.

In regard to FIGS. 9 and 11 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 9 showing theoverlapped portions of side walls 15 and 16 and with an inturnedmarginal end portion of the wrapper W' between portions of side walls 15and 16 and the adhesive 17 and 18 fixing these side walls and endmarginal portion of wrapper W, FIG. 11, together and to thus allow thebox to be collapsed and erected and without fracturing the wrapper W atthe top and bottom edges of the box inasmuch as the remainder of thewrapper is absolutely free. and unsecured in any manner to any of theremainder of the box panels and side wall and end closure flaps. Theeffect of the unsecured major portions of the wrapper is that theerected box gives the appearance or simulation of having been handwrapped with a separate unattached sheet of wrapping paper. Wrapping andwrapper are used synonymously herein. In using ornamental wrapperherein, it is to include, of course, any ornamentation whatsoeverprinted or otherwise applied thereon. The wrapper may be paper, plasticor any other suitable flexible material. Any other ornamentation, suchas bows, ribbons, representations of animals, birds, etc. may be securedto the wrapper by any means, such as adhesives, staples, embossed, orthe like.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms, sizes and shapeswithout departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof,the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive,since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claimsrather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fallwithin the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functionalas well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are, therefore, in-

tended to be embraced by those claims.

What I claim is:

l. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure comprising asubstantially fiat blank with a pair of body panels, a first side paneljoined at its opposite edges along spaced parallel fold lines toadjacent edges of the body panels, a second side panel joined along afold line to the other edge of one of said body panels, and anadditional side panel joined along a fold line to the other edge of theother body panel and having a free edge portion, end closure flaps onopposite ends of the body panels and said first and second side panels,a first line of adhesive on said second side panel immediately adjacentand parallel to said fold line, a second line of adhesive along the freeedge portion of said additional side panel, and a wrapper adhesivelysecured to said blank only at said first and second lines of adhesiveand covering substantially all of said body panels and extending at itsopposite edges over at least a portion of the end closure flaps. butfree of attachment to the end closure flaps, so that the blank may beerected and collapsed with the wrapper fixed thereto, and the endclosure flaps closed prior to folding of the opposite edges of thewrapper, said wrapper completely enclosing the erected blank andpresenting the appearance of a hand wrapped box.

2. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 1,wherein said box structure is collapsed, a separate, ornamentaldecoration fixed on the wrapper, and a transparent cover over thecollapsible box and the ornamental decoration.

3. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 1,wherein the end closure flaps on 0pposite ends of the body panels havemutually interengageable locking means.

4. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 3,wherein adhesive means is on the edge portions of the wrapper to securethe edge portions in folded position over the end closure flaps of anerected box structure.

5. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure made from asubstantially flat blank, said box including opposed main body panelsconnected by said panels at opposite sides thereof and infolded endclosure flaps on opposite ends of the body panels and side 1 6 with thewrapper fixed to the blank, and said end closure flaps closed prior tofolding of the extended edge portions of the wrapper over said infoldedend closure flaps, said wrapper completely enclosing said erected box.

6. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 5,wherein the end closure flaps on opposite ends of the body panels havemutually interengageable locking means.

7. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 6,wherein adhesive means is on the edge portions of the wrapper to securethe edge portions in folded position over the end closure flaps of anerected box structure.

1. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure comprising asubstantially flat blank with a pair of body panels, a first side paneljoined at its opposite edges along spaced parallel fold lines toadjacent edges of the body panels, a second side panel joined along afold line to the other edge of one of said body panels, and anadditional side panel joined along a fold line to the other edge of theother body panel and having a free edge portion, end closure flaps onopposite ends of the body panels and said first and second side panels,a first line of adhesive on said second side panel immediately adjacentand parallel to said fold line, a second line of adhesive along the freeedge portion of said additional side panel, and a wrapper adhesivelysecured to said blank only at said first and second lines of adhesiveand covering substantially all of said body panels and extending at itsopposite edges over at least a portion of the end closure flaps. butfree of attachment to the end closure flaps, so that the blank may beerected and collapsed with the wrapper fixed thereto, and the endclosure flaps closed prior to folding of the opposite edges of thewrapper, said wrapper completely enclosing the erected blank andpresenting the appearance of a hand wrapped box.
 2. A prewrapped,collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 1, wherein said boxstructure is collapsed, a separate, ornamental decoration fixed on thewrapper, and a transparent cover over the collapsible box and theornamental decoration.
 3. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable boxstructure as in claim 1, wherein the end closure flaps on opposite endsof the body panels have mutually interengageable locking means.
 4. Aprewrapped, collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 3,wherein adhesive means is on the edge portions of the wrapper to securethe edge portions in folded position over the end closure flaps of anerected box structure.
 5. A prewrapped, collapsible and erectable boxstructure made from a substantially flat blank, said box includingopposed main body panels connected by said panels at opposite sidesthereof and infolded end closure flaps on opposite ends of the bodypanels and side panels, and an ornamental wrapper adhesively secured atopposite ends thereof along a pair of substantially parallel adhesivelines on a pair of said side panels at opposite sides of said bodypanels, respectively, said wrapper extending over and coveringsubstantially all of said body panels and side panels and extending atits opposite edges over at least a portion of said end closure flaps,said wrapper being free of attachment to any of said end closure flaps,so that the box may be erected with the wrapper fixed to the blank, andsaid end closure flaps closed prior to folding of the extended edgeportions of the wrapper over said infolded end closure flaps, saidwrapper completely enclosing said erected box.
 6. A prewrapped,collapsible and erectable box structure as in claim 5, wherein the endclosure flaps on opposite ends of the body panels have mutuallyinterengageable locking means.
 7. A prewrapped, collapsible anderectable box Structure as in claim 6, wherein adhesive means is on theedge portions of the wrapper to secure the edge portions in foldedposition over the end closure flaps of an erected box structure.